EbA project hosts training workshops
The Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) project recently concluded training workshops in Keetmanshoop, Otjiwarongo, Khorixas, Opuwo, Ondangwa, Rundu and Katima Mulilo.
The project of the environment ministry is the first to be approved in ecosystem restoration is implemented by the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) through a Project Management Unit.
It is a product of the proposal, 'Building resilience of communities living in landscapes threatened under climate change through and Ecosystem-based Adaption approach in Namibia'.
The EbA project was approved by the Green Climate Fund in 2019 and is financed to the tune of U$8.9 million.
It aims to increase landscape productivity across 8 targeted landscapes of Namibia to strengthen social and ecological systems that sustain livelihoods at local levels and facilitate value chains of natural resources.
The workshops highlighted the EIF and the ministry’s commitment towards addressing the issues of climate change.
It further highlights the two parties’ contribution towards the realization of Namibia’s obligations to national and international climate change frameworks.
According to the EIF, it is aimed at informing Community Based Organisations (CBO’s) or participants about the project objectives and it activated participants to identify the need priorities of their respective communities, as well as to familiarise participants with some technical tools in planning and climate change related issues.
Leading the facilitation, project manager, Bryan Gaomab, said the emphasis was to develop feasible answers on how to address known gaps and challenges in the different landscapes.
According to the technical expert on climate change from the ministry, Johannes Munango, Namibia’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change stems from the fact that Namibia is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa where it faces problems like water scarcity coupled with the changing climate therefore making us more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
“During the vulnerability assessment that we conducted in 2020 for the regions in Namibia, we found that most regions are actually dependent on ecological based enterprises in the form of livelihood and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” Munango said.
He further alluded to the vulnerability to climate change being region specific and that they follow different factors which informs them about the contributing factors like livelihood income per household, taking into consideration women led households, services in that region like school facilities. These amongst others, determine the vulnerabilities of these regions to the impact of climate change.
Further studies found that mostly regions in the north, to the north-eastern regions of Namibia are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, because in these regions they are mostly dependent on rain fed agriculture and rearing of animals as a livelihood making them more prone sensitive to the impacts of climate change.
The southern regions on the other hand already present drier conditions, which means that they are more adaptive to those conditions with or without climate change.
Furthermore, the EbA project aims to increase climate change resilience of productive landscapes in Namibia through implementation of Ecosystem-based adaption actions that strengthen social and ecological systems to sustain livelihoods at local levels and facilitate value chains of natural resources.
The regions of Namibia are clustered into eight landscapes which make up the Southern landscape, Kunene South and Daures landscape, Kunene North landscape, Lower-Eastern landscape, North Central landscape, Kavango East and West landscape, Zambezi East and West and Ovitoto and Otjimbingwe landscapes.
The project of the environment ministry is the first to be approved in ecosystem restoration is implemented by the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) through a Project Management Unit.
It is a product of the proposal, 'Building resilience of communities living in landscapes threatened under climate change through and Ecosystem-based Adaption approach in Namibia'.
The EbA project was approved by the Green Climate Fund in 2019 and is financed to the tune of U$8.9 million.
It aims to increase landscape productivity across 8 targeted landscapes of Namibia to strengthen social and ecological systems that sustain livelihoods at local levels and facilitate value chains of natural resources.
The workshops highlighted the EIF and the ministry’s commitment towards addressing the issues of climate change.
It further highlights the two parties’ contribution towards the realization of Namibia’s obligations to national and international climate change frameworks.
According to the EIF, it is aimed at informing Community Based Organisations (CBO’s) or participants about the project objectives and it activated participants to identify the need priorities of their respective communities, as well as to familiarise participants with some technical tools in planning and climate change related issues.
Leading the facilitation, project manager, Bryan Gaomab, said the emphasis was to develop feasible answers on how to address known gaps and challenges in the different landscapes.
According to the technical expert on climate change from the ministry, Johannes Munango, Namibia’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change stems from the fact that Namibia is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa where it faces problems like water scarcity coupled with the changing climate therefore making us more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
“During the vulnerability assessment that we conducted in 2020 for the regions in Namibia, we found that most regions are actually dependent on ecological based enterprises in the form of livelihood and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” Munango said.
He further alluded to the vulnerability to climate change being region specific and that they follow different factors which informs them about the contributing factors like livelihood income per household, taking into consideration women led households, services in that region like school facilities. These amongst others, determine the vulnerabilities of these regions to the impact of climate change.
Further studies found that mostly regions in the north, to the north-eastern regions of Namibia are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, because in these regions they are mostly dependent on rain fed agriculture and rearing of animals as a livelihood making them more prone sensitive to the impacts of climate change.
The southern regions on the other hand already present drier conditions, which means that they are more adaptive to those conditions with or without climate change.
Furthermore, the EbA project aims to increase climate change resilience of productive landscapes in Namibia through implementation of Ecosystem-based adaption actions that strengthen social and ecological systems to sustain livelihoods at local levels and facilitate value chains of natural resources.
The regions of Namibia are clustered into eight landscapes which make up the Southern landscape, Kunene South and Daures landscape, Kunene North landscape, Lower-Eastern landscape, North Central landscape, Kavango East and West landscape, Zambezi East and West and Ovitoto and Otjimbingwe landscapes.
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